This section is a collection of artists and websites that we find inspiring.

James Jean is a tremendously talented illustrator who uses Photoshop for much of his work. On his site you can browse through his galleries and see some truly inspiring work, including his art for DC Comics Batgirl. James had this to say about the work he sent in: "This piece was a double page spread done for the Entertainment Weekly's 2006 Holiday Movie Preview. Actual execution of the illustration was around 4 days, from drawing to digital color to final approval. Photoshop was used for color, compositing of the background, and glow effects."

go to James Jean "Entertainment Weekly Magazine Spread"We asked James Porto if he had any advice to give to those learning Photoshop. "As far as advice on Photoshop, my basic credo is, there are no easy ways to make a great image  you need a great idea, great original photography, and a lot of patience to attend to all the details that make these assemblies look natural and striking. Perspective, light quality, light direction, shadows, and edge quality all need to be attended to with great care to make a convincing illusion."
Have a look at the the final image he produced for a New York Magazine cover assignment and you'll see exactly what he means by paying attention to detail. This is another amazing piece of work from a true Photoshop artist.

go to James Porto "New York Magazine Cover"Since the dawn of forever water has captivated the human imagination, inspiring rituals, stories and arts throughout the world. With his new site Liquid Sculpture, photographer Martin Waugh has joined this history of water worshipers.
The site features delightfully beautiful images of drops, splashes, ripples and the like. Striking a balance between contrived and natural outcomes, Waugh rarely retouches his photos, preferring instead to just set the stage for the water to do its thing by adding color and other materials.

go to Martin Waugh "Liquid Sculpture"Glenn Honiball is an artistic image retouching expert who produces high end quality image work. Image experience includes work for ad agencies, design houses, photographers, web, newsprint, packaging, and personal photo work.
On his page you'll see 2 photos, a before and an after. And how long did it take from start to finish? Glenn says it took only two hours. Amazing.

go to Glenn Honiball "Photoshop Retouching""The Logomotive" by James Porto is from the August 9, 2004 issue of New York Magazine.
It was used for a story about how the New York City Metropolitan Transportation Authority was exploring selling the names of subway stations and lines to corporate sponsors.
And so, the magazine asked, could this be the subway of the future?

go to James Porto "The Logomotive"Stephen Burns, author of Photoshop CS Trickery and FX, began as a photographer 25 years ago and then moved toward the digital medium. His influences include the great Abstractionists and Surrealists.
He has been a corporate instructor and lecturer in digital art and design for 8 years, and has exhibited digital fine art internationally (Durban Art Museum in South Africa, Citizens Gallery in Yokahama, Japan, and CECUT Museum Of Mexico, etc.).

go to Stephen Burns "Digital Ecstasy"Catherine Salisbury says, "Magical Encounters brings me back to my roots and my love of animals and photography. It has been a pure pleasure spending time with all the marine species that I encountered doing these panoramic images.
"Most of the photography was done in Bonaire, which is a marvelous place to have intimate contact with marine animals. It is one of the few places in the world left where wildlife isn’t afraid to approach you. And the great water visibility, constant climate and reef accessibility make Bonaire an all around perfect underwater environment."

go to Catherine Salisbury "Magical Encounters""Some people claim that a good portrait will reveal some truth about a model. I'm undoubtedly sad to state that these people will not find anything interesting in my photography, which has no such purpose." Andrzej DraganSome artists produce work that is simply too unique to describe. Andrzej Dragan is such an artist.

go to Andrzej Dragan "Artystka"Three Sisters is a series of photographs by Marshall Sokoloff of three ships in Toronto. Marshall says:"These colorful ships, laden with unrefined sugar, were each unloaded over a period of a week. This slow unveiling of their spectacular hulls yielded a changing canvas of weathered ephemeral beauty. Photographed mostly in the dawn morning light, the colors dance with intensity in juxtaposition to the glassy calm water, clear blue sky and the calmness of a city not yet awoken."

go to Marshall Sokoloff's "Three Sisters"Ben Willmore is the founder of Digital Mastery, a training and consulting firm dedicated to helping graphic arts professionals master the electronic tools of their trade. Ben also writes for several magazines, covering issues such as color correction, production, efficiency, and special effects. He is a regular speaker at Photoshop events, including PhotohopWorld.

go to Ben Willmore  Photoshop GuruWe first noticed Jeff T. Alu's mesmerizing photos in File Magazine. The photo we are featuring  "Car"  is from Elemental Spaces, a selection of Alu's digital photos of the Southern California deserts. "This shot was taken at Bombay Beach," Alu told us, "on the Salton Sea, in Southern California. My idea for this shot was to have the soft sky/water contrast with the harsh land."

go to Jeff T. Alu  PhotographyThe next time you have a difficult job to perform in Photoshop or find yourself stuck in a project that is tediously demanding and time-consuming, take a look at the work of Kevin Hulsey and you might not feel so bad anymore. Because this is the kind of work that is so demanding and time-consuming that it's almost frightening.go to Kevin Hulsey "Royal Caribbean Ship Project" pageThe Face of Tomorrow is a new series of works by Istanbul based photographer Mike Mike. It deals with notions of race, place, identity and belonging on both a local level as well as on a global scale.
The Face of Tomorrow attempts to find a city's identity by presenting just two faces (one male, one female), that are based on composites of local pictures of inhabitants.
We have two large photo/morphs from the project  the Male Composite and the Female Composite for London, England.go to The Face of Tomorrow pageFrom the website: "The purpose of FILE is to collect and display photographs that treat subjects in unexpected ways. Alternate takes, odd angles, unconventional observations  these are some of the ways photographs collected in FILE reinterpret traditional genres. FILE gladly accepts unsolicited photographs."

go to FILE Magazine pageGreg Martin says: "My goal is to raise the bar for aspiring celestial artists everywhere by making the basic techniques to create realistic spatial elements available for all interested...
"It is up to the artist, however, to develop their own skillset and create truly dynamic compositions."

go to Greg Martin "Euphoriia II"Bert Monroy says: "My art is considered photo-realism because the final product looks like a photograph. As a commercial illustrator, I am commissioned to create photographs of products or situations that can't be photographed with a camera. In most cases, the product does not yet exist."
To see an example of his extraordinary work, take a close look at "Hamburgers" which was created in 2002.